Nathan just took some pictures of me for our 18 week celebration. Here they are:
Monday, December 28, 2009
18 weeks pregnant tomorrow!!
We just had an amazing Christmas with my family here in Nashville, TN. Now, we are getting ready to head to Rockford, IL to spend a late Christmas with Nathan's family on New Years. We are very excited about that!! We will get to be with Nathan's whole family at one time!! It is so rare that all of us get to be together all at once!! Yay!!
Nathan just took some pictures of me for our 18 week celebration. Here they are:
Nathan just took some pictures of me for our 18 week celebration. Here they are:
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Checking in...
I am 16 weeks and 2 days pregnant today. I am dying to feel the baby inside me. I want to feel it moving or kicking…something!! It is so weird to be getting bigger and feeling the effects of being pregnant, but not be able to feel my baby yet! I’m ready, God, let me have it! ☺ Man, I am just not very good a being patient. I want to be holding our little one in my arms already.
I read in my pregnancy book that the baby can now hear pretty well and is learning our voices. So, I have been singing to the baby for the last few weeks or so. I learned in college that babies can learn while in the womb and can show preference between songs, stories, and peoples voices. These things they heard a lot in the womb can also comfort them once they are born. So, I have been singing the same couple songs to the baby. Nathan also sings to the baby. Sometimes it’s a real song. Sometimes it’s something he made up just for the baby. While he is down there singing to the baby, I have him tell the baby, “It’s okay to kick mommy because she wants to feel you.” So far the baby hasn’t listened yet. I guess we are going to have to teach it the skill of listening to what daddy says. ☺
I have been feeling good lately. Very energetic. Very happy that my cold in gone. I just have some congestion, but it sounds worse than it feels. I have read numerous places that most pregnant women experience congestion for most of their pregnancy, so I am not concerned.
Well, just wanted to check in for the morning. I have to head off to work at the café 11-1, then teach music lessons from 3-6. I hope all my students show up today!
Hope everyone is doing well.
P.S. I have been looking at our wedding pictures lately. So, I thought I would post some of my favorites. Here they are:
I read in my pregnancy book that the baby can now hear pretty well and is learning our voices. So, I have been singing to the baby for the last few weeks or so. I learned in college that babies can learn while in the womb and can show preference between songs, stories, and peoples voices. These things they heard a lot in the womb can also comfort them once they are born. So, I have been singing the same couple songs to the baby. Nathan also sings to the baby. Sometimes it’s a real song. Sometimes it’s something he made up just for the baby. While he is down there singing to the baby, I have him tell the baby, “It’s okay to kick mommy because she wants to feel you.” So far the baby hasn’t listened yet. I guess we are going to have to teach it the skill of listening to what daddy says. ☺
I have been feeling good lately. Very energetic. Very happy that my cold in gone. I just have some congestion, but it sounds worse than it feels. I have read numerous places that most pregnant women experience congestion for most of their pregnancy, so I am not concerned.
Well, just wanted to check in for the morning. I have to head off to work at the café 11-1, then teach music lessons from 3-6. I hope all my students show up today!
Hope everyone is doing well.
P.S. I have been looking at our wedding pictures lately. So, I thought I would post some of my favorites. Here they are:
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
We Missed Something!!
Becky here. As I was reading though our blogs I realized we have left out some recent events.
Nathan and I are in the car now, driving in raining weather, to Winnebago, IL to spend the week of Thanksgiving with Mama and Papa Holland. I thought, what could be a better time to catch everyone up than during a 4 hour car ride. So, here are a few recent happenings and some pictures for your enjoyment!!
MOVING AGAIN.
Just a few weeks after we found out I was pregnant, I went in to our rental office to pay rent. As normal, a conversation struck up with the ladies that run the place, Trina and Marlene. I have formed a great relationship with them. I am a talkative gal and they are as well, so they have always known what is going on in my life and I in theirs. They knew me as a single lady when I moved in to my one bedroom apartment. Then, they watched me change my name on the lease and add Nathan’s as we got married. And now, only 2 months after our wedding, here I am at the office telling them I am pregnant! They were very excited for us and immediately asked if Nathan and I would be moving into a 2 bedroom apartment. I told them that we would LOVE the extra space, but we surely could not afford the rent. At the time we were paying $540 a month for our one bedroom and that plus our other bills was expending our money each month just fine. We didn’t think it was wise or necessary to stretch ourselves with a much bigger rent (2 bedrooms generally go for $700-750 in our building). I also didn’t want to be moving in the 8th month of my pregnancy when our lease was up, then have to repaint and nest in a new place. I told them this and Trina thinking out loud said, “Well, we normally charge around $700 for a 2 bedroom because it is two students sharing the rent. Then they are only paying $350 each, and that’s a good deal.” I agreed with her there. Then she said, “But you and Nathan are married and expecting a baby. So, how does $595 sound?” I nearly jumped up and down. But thought an answer of, “I will have to run that past my husband, but thank you so much for the offer,” was the best thing to say. Then I thought to ask if there were even any 2 bedrooms open. They said they would have to check. I mentioned that when I was walking from one side of the apartment building to the other to do laundry I noticed an apartment on the second floor that was empty and looked like a 2 bedroom. “Is that one available?” I asked. Marlene said, “That one’s not empty. They have their lease until February.” I told them that it has looked very empty for a few weeks or so and remembered watching them move all their stuff a while ago. So, we went over that apartment to see what was going on and it WAS empty. The people who had lived there just picked up and moved out without telling them anything! I bet they are in trouble. But this was working out well for me. The apartment looked great except the carpets. They were really old and dirty yellow shag with brown speck that I could not be sure were supposed to be there or were just filth. There were also holes warn into the carpet or burnt into it. Whoever had lived in that apartment had not been very nice to it at all. Trina told me the apartment was ours if we wanted it. I was excited, but the carpets were a deal breaker for me. I explained this to her and asked her if they could replace them. She said, “Well, a baby couldn’t very will crawl on THESE carpets.” We painted the apartment that weekend. Thanks to Ma and Pa Cantlon for funding the repaint and to our great friends Dale, Amanda, Becky, Devin, Joel, and Jessica for helping with the labor and Grandma Dorothy for funding dinner for the laborers!! ☺ Maintenance replaced the carpets the next week and we moved in the week after!! We have lived for a month or so now and LOVE it. It is so much bigger than our old place. AND the baby has it’s own room!!!! We are so excited to meet our little Holland. Here are some picture of the place.
Here is the living room:
And the other half of the living room:
Our messy dining room/office area. As you can see I am not done organizing this part. :)
The kitchen:
Bathroom:
The baby's room - a work in progress!
Our bedroom:
The other half of our room:
Hope you enjoyed. Much love.
Nathan and I are in the car now, driving in raining weather, to Winnebago, IL to spend the week of Thanksgiving with Mama and Papa Holland. I thought, what could be a better time to catch everyone up than during a 4 hour car ride. So, here are a few recent happenings and some pictures for your enjoyment!!
MOVING AGAIN.
Just a few weeks after we found out I was pregnant, I went in to our rental office to pay rent. As normal, a conversation struck up with the ladies that run the place, Trina and Marlene. I have formed a great relationship with them. I am a talkative gal and they are as well, so they have always known what is going on in my life and I in theirs. They knew me as a single lady when I moved in to my one bedroom apartment. Then, they watched me change my name on the lease and add Nathan’s as we got married. And now, only 2 months after our wedding, here I am at the office telling them I am pregnant! They were very excited for us and immediately asked if Nathan and I would be moving into a 2 bedroom apartment. I told them that we would LOVE the extra space, but we surely could not afford the rent. At the time we were paying $540 a month for our one bedroom and that plus our other bills was expending our money each month just fine. We didn’t think it was wise or necessary to stretch ourselves with a much bigger rent (2 bedrooms generally go for $700-750 in our building). I also didn’t want to be moving in the 8th month of my pregnancy when our lease was up, then have to repaint and nest in a new place. I told them this and Trina thinking out loud said, “Well, we normally charge around $700 for a 2 bedroom because it is two students sharing the rent. Then they are only paying $350 each, and that’s a good deal.” I agreed with her there. Then she said, “But you and Nathan are married and expecting a baby. So, how does $595 sound?” I nearly jumped up and down. But thought an answer of, “I will have to run that past my husband, but thank you so much for the offer,” was the best thing to say. Then I thought to ask if there were even any 2 bedrooms open. They said they would have to check. I mentioned that when I was walking from one side of the apartment building to the other to do laundry I noticed an apartment on the second floor that was empty and looked like a 2 bedroom. “Is that one available?” I asked. Marlene said, “That one’s not empty. They have their lease until February.” I told them that it has looked very empty for a few weeks or so and remembered watching them move all their stuff a while ago. So, we went over that apartment to see what was going on and it WAS empty. The people who had lived there just picked up and moved out without telling them anything! I bet they are in trouble. But this was working out well for me. The apartment looked great except the carpets. They were really old and dirty yellow shag with brown speck that I could not be sure were supposed to be there or were just filth. There were also holes warn into the carpet or burnt into it. Whoever had lived in that apartment had not been very nice to it at all. Trina told me the apartment was ours if we wanted it. I was excited, but the carpets were a deal breaker for me. I explained this to her and asked her if they could replace them. She said, “Well, a baby couldn’t very will crawl on THESE carpets.” We painted the apartment that weekend. Thanks to Ma and Pa Cantlon for funding the repaint and to our great friends Dale, Amanda, Becky, Devin, Joel, and Jessica for helping with the labor and Grandma Dorothy for funding dinner for the laborers!! ☺ Maintenance replaced the carpets the next week and we moved in the week after!! We have lived for a month or so now and LOVE it. It is so much bigger than our old place. AND the baby has it’s own room!!!! We are so excited to meet our little Holland. Here are some picture of the place.
Here is the living room:
And the other half of the living room:
Our messy dining room/office area. As you can see I am not done organizing this part. :)
The kitchen:
Bathroom:
The baby's room - a work in progress!
Our bedroom:
The other half of our room:
Hope you enjoyed. Much love.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Second Trimester ALREADY!!!
Becky here!! Alright, so I know I haven't been writing on here a lot. I really want to, but life is very full currently. I promise I am going to make a better effort at it from now on!!
So, this past Tuesday was the first day of my second trimester!! Wow!! I am in my 4th month of pregnancy! I sure cannot believe it. Our little baby is going to be here before we know it. Only 6 months left!! I was reading my pregnancy book, that my mama got me, and according to it our baby is about 4-6 inches long and weighs about .25 of a pound! The baby has been growing and changing so quickly. I sure have found such a deeper love, passion and fascination with God through this time. As I have been learning about how a baby forms and how many intricate things are happening all at once and how many of those intricate things could go wrong...it amazes me that anything goes right!! God is sure a great creator. There is no doubt in my mind that he is behind all the creation of our world. Speaking of growing and changing...I have been doing some of that myself! According to the book my mama gave me if you haven't started wearing maternity pants by this time in your pregnancy you are doing really good. That made me feel good because although I had to say good-bye to two of my pre-pregnancy pants, I can still wear most of them!! :) At my last doctors appointment I had only gained one pound. I have my next appointment next Thrusday...I will let you know how it goes.
Nathan and I took a picture of my stomach as soon as we found out we were pregnant. This was at about 4-5 weeks. I thought it was only appropriate to mark the monumental occasion of entering my second trimester by taking another picture of my belly. There is not too much of a change, but when I look back and forth between the two pictures I can tell a difference. Can you see the difference? At this point I don't feel all to pregnant...more just that I am getting chubby. I wonder if people look at me (who don't know I am pregnant) and think....humm, she is gaining weight! Hehe...I will show them in a few more weeks I will be unmistakably pregnant! I am really looking forward to that time. So, here are the pregnant pictures of me....hope you enjoy!!
Here I am at 4-5 Weeks pregnant
And here I am now at 12 weeks and 2 days pregnant!!
So, this past Tuesday was the first day of my second trimester!! Wow!! I am in my 4th month of pregnancy! I sure cannot believe it. Our little baby is going to be here before we know it. Only 6 months left!! I was reading my pregnancy book, that my mama got me, and according to it our baby is about 4-6 inches long and weighs about .25 of a pound! The baby has been growing and changing so quickly. I sure have found such a deeper love, passion and fascination with God through this time. As I have been learning about how a baby forms and how many intricate things are happening all at once and how many of those intricate things could go wrong...it amazes me that anything goes right!! God is sure a great creator. There is no doubt in my mind that he is behind all the creation of our world. Speaking of growing and changing...I have been doing some of that myself! According to the book my mama gave me if you haven't started wearing maternity pants by this time in your pregnancy you are doing really good. That made me feel good because although I had to say good-bye to two of my pre-pregnancy pants, I can still wear most of them!! :) At my last doctors appointment I had only gained one pound. I have my next appointment next Thrusday...I will let you know how it goes.
Nathan and I took a picture of my stomach as soon as we found out we were pregnant. This was at about 4-5 weeks. I thought it was only appropriate to mark the monumental occasion of entering my second trimester by taking another picture of my belly. There is not too much of a change, but when I look back and forth between the two pictures I can tell a difference. Can you see the difference? At this point I don't feel all to pregnant...more just that I am getting chubby. I wonder if people look at me (who don't know I am pregnant) and think....humm, she is gaining weight! Hehe...I will show them in a few more weeks I will be unmistakably pregnant! I am really looking forward to that time. So, here are the pregnant pictures of me....hope you enjoy!!
Here I am at 4-5 Weeks pregnant
And here I am now at 12 weeks and 2 days pregnant!!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Updates
So, it's been a while since the last post. There has been a lot going on! Never Say When is done mastering their cd and is getting ready to put ISRC codes on the songs, copyright the material, then send the master out to have the replication process done! Hopefully all of this work will pay off by having the finished product in hand by the end of November.
And of course there has been a lot of talking about our baby! We have had our first sonogram and heard it's heartbeat! 186 bmp. And we saw the baby wiggle a little! What a miracle. 8.5 more weeks until we get to figure out whether it is going to be a girl or boy. We have decided to not go with pink or blue. We like neutral colors. We were thinking that we were going to do animals as a theme, but are now thinking that we will be doing brown and white. Thanks to all who are offering us baby stuff! We are so blessed to have family members and friends who love us enough to offer to help us in so many ways!
So, we currently travel with Never Say When on most weekends. This entails packing the car with people and luggage and instruments. Since we will be adding a car seat, child, pack and play, stroller, and baby bag to this mass of things, we thought it might be a good idea to look for something with a little more cargo room.....A MINI VAN! And with that thought we automatically lost 10 cool points. But that's okay, we were very excited to be able to stretch out our legs on long trips rather than curling up in a ball in the backseat in order to sleep. I say "were excited," because it didn't happen like we thought it would. Here's the story:
Becky and I get excited when we found some time to look for a van. The first place we went to was Urban Motors - a branch of a used car dealership from Chicago. We looked at a conversion van that we thought looked comfy but decided it would not be fun to drive around town all the time. So we looked at the Ford Windstar (1998, 127000 miles) next to it. After looking at another minivan that smelled like a child's vomit on the inside, we decided that the Windstar looked really clean inside and out. After talking to the salesman who said he could probably do an even trade for our car we left, telling him we might be back. We Carfaxed Becky's car and the Windstar and found that they both had very clean records. It seemed that we were getting a great deal for the van and the salesman, in turn, was hasty to make a deal since he was getting the more marketable car (what college kid is looking for a mini van...oh wait, me). We went back and test drove the van and immediately found something goofy and unexplainable with the brakes. We had a knowledgable friend check it out and he could not explain the odd grinding feeling either. I figured it had to be the ABS (especially since the ABS light was on). We took it back to the dealer and said that there was something goofy going on with the brakes. He immediately said that he would fix it. Easier than I thought. So we told him that the handle on the inside of the sliding door was not working and he agreed to fix that too. Wow...nice guy. We left telling him that if those were fixed we'd be interested in making a deal. The next day, Becky made some calls to bigger dealers in Macomb and asked what they could do for us. The best we could get from them was a decent van for our car plus about $3000. Since our goal was to not spend any money we asked the second dealership if we would be getting a good deal for the Windstar. He said that we were probably getting a fair trade but we should test drive the van and take it to PM Auto - a local independent mechanic's shop. We went to test drive the Winstar with high hopes. The salesman handed us the keys and said that the brakes were new and we were ready to go. We drove the van to the auto shop and the brakes were fixed! After about a half hour at the shop, the mechanic came out with a list of abou $1750 of work that needed to be done in order for the van to not break down immediately. And guess what...the brakes were only about 50%. Lame. So we took the van back to the dealer, told him we were going to walk away and showed him the list of problems with the van. His response was that they were all routine things that exist because the van was older. Um...no. There were fluids mixed in with other fluids due to a leak. There was a fluid that was supposed to be a light color and was black due to metal shavings. Both tierod ends were bad and could break, easily causing a fatal accident on the highway. There was a bad rear bearing. It pretty much needed a new radiator. These problems may exist because they have developed over time as the vehicle got older, but they are not routine things. They should have been taken care of a long time ago. We could have bought the van and died in it the next week. Or at least been $2000 in debt. Thanks, Urban Motors, for a poor first car shopping experience. Did I mention that our mechanic said that he's seen a lot of bad stuff come out of this particular dealership? Huh. I wonder why. Wait, no I don't. I'VE seen bad stuff come out of the dealership. I dont' think that I will be going back there. Apparently, you can't even trust the used car dealer in a small town. And now I am done spewing my anger about Urban Motors.
So the van search may go on if GOD decides he wants to put something in our past. But we see that GOD provides even if his answer is "No, Hollands. Wait for a different vehicle." He has ultimate control. I think of how disappointed I get because I can't go get in my new van to drive to Rockford this weekend. But then I realize how great GOD is that I am not unsuspectingly getting in a dangerous van to drive down the highway at 2 am!
Well, I hope you enjoyed the story and are keeping your feelers out for anyone who wants to trade their good condition van for a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am in good condition!
the Hollands
And of course there has been a lot of talking about our baby! We have had our first sonogram and heard it's heartbeat! 186 bmp. And we saw the baby wiggle a little! What a miracle. 8.5 more weeks until we get to figure out whether it is going to be a girl or boy. We have decided to not go with pink or blue. We like neutral colors. We were thinking that we were going to do animals as a theme, but are now thinking that we will be doing brown and white. Thanks to all who are offering us baby stuff! We are so blessed to have family members and friends who love us enough to offer to help us in so many ways!
So, we currently travel with Never Say When on most weekends. This entails packing the car with people and luggage and instruments. Since we will be adding a car seat, child, pack and play, stroller, and baby bag to this mass of things, we thought it might be a good idea to look for something with a little more cargo room.....A MINI VAN! And with that thought we automatically lost 10 cool points. But that's okay, we were very excited to be able to stretch out our legs on long trips rather than curling up in a ball in the backseat in order to sleep. I say "were excited," because it didn't happen like we thought it would. Here's the story:
Becky and I get excited when we found some time to look for a van. The first place we went to was Urban Motors - a branch of a used car dealership from Chicago. We looked at a conversion van that we thought looked comfy but decided it would not be fun to drive around town all the time. So we looked at the Ford Windstar (1998, 127000 miles) next to it. After looking at another minivan that smelled like a child's vomit on the inside, we decided that the Windstar looked really clean inside and out. After talking to the salesman who said he could probably do an even trade for our car we left, telling him we might be back. We Carfaxed Becky's car and the Windstar and found that they both had very clean records. It seemed that we were getting a great deal for the van and the salesman, in turn, was hasty to make a deal since he was getting the more marketable car (what college kid is looking for a mini van...oh wait, me). We went back and test drove the van and immediately found something goofy and unexplainable with the brakes. We had a knowledgable friend check it out and he could not explain the odd grinding feeling either. I figured it had to be the ABS (especially since the ABS light was on). We took it back to the dealer and said that there was something goofy going on with the brakes. He immediately said that he would fix it. Easier than I thought. So we told him that the handle on the inside of the sliding door was not working and he agreed to fix that too. Wow...nice guy. We left telling him that if those were fixed we'd be interested in making a deal. The next day, Becky made some calls to bigger dealers in Macomb and asked what they could do for us. The best we could get from them was a decent van for our car plus about $3000. Since our goal was to not spend any money we asked the second dealership if we would be getting a good deal for the Windstar. He said that we were probably getting a fair trade but we should test drive the van and take it to PM Auto - a local independent mechanic's shop. We went to test drive the Winstar with high hopes. The salesman handed us the keys and said that the brakes were new and we were ready to go. We drove the van to the auto shop and the brakes were fixed! After about a half hour at the shop, the mechanic came out with a list of abou $1750 of work that needed to be done in order for the van to not break down immediately. And guess what...the brakes were only about 50%. Lame. So we took the van back to the dealer, told him we were going to walk away and showed him the list of problems with the van. His response was that they were all routine things that exist because the van was older. Um...no. There were fluids mixed in with other fluids due to a leak. There was a fluid that was supposed to be a light color and was black due to metal shavings. Both tierod ends were bad and could break, easily causing a fatal accident on the highway. There was a bad rear bearing. It pretty much needed a new radiator. These problems may exist because they have developed over time as the vehicle got older, but they are not routine things. They should have been taken care of a long time ago. We could have bought the van and died in it the next week. Or at least been $2000 in debt. Thanks, Urban Motors, for a poor first car shopping experience. Did I mention that our mechanic said that he's seen a lot of bad stuff come out of this particular dealership? Huh. I wonder why. Wait, no I don't. I'VE seen bad stuff come out of the dealership. I dont' think that I will be going back there. Apparently, you can't even trust the used car dealer in a small town. And now I am done spewing my anger about Urban Motors.
So the van search may go on if GOD decides he wants to put something in our past. But we see that GOD provides even if his answer is "No, Hollands. Wait for a different vehicle." He has ultimate control. I think of how disappointed I get because I can't go get in my new van to drive to Rockford this weekend. But then I realize how great GOD is that I am not unsuspectingly getting in a dangerous van to drive down the highway at 2 am!
Well, I hope you enjoyed the story and are keeping your feelers out for anyone who wants to trade their good condition van for a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am in good condition!
the Hollands
Monday, September 28, 2009
It's a Baby!!
So Becky and I have been rearranging our apartment to make room for the baby that is to be here in about nine months! That's right...we're rediculously excited to be pregnant. While this was not "the plan", we are immensely blessed and proud that GOD would consider us worthy of bearing a child! We found out one week ago today...on Monday. After Becky's body was doing some unusual things and she was two days late for that certain time, we went and took four pregnancy tests that all proved positive. She took an official test today at the Health Dept. and it's still a go! The first positive test resulted in me being excited and Becky covering her mouth, turning BRIGHT red, and crying. She didn't know how to feel at first because all she could think of was the birthing process...ouch! But, we have gotten over that and are super excited that we're going to have a little baby.
We have rearranged our bedroom to fit a crib and a changing table. The baby's going to have to sleep in our room since it is only a one-room apartment. We thought about moving, but Becky wants to stay put so we can be completely settled and comfortable when the baby comes (and not unpacking when she is 8 or 9 months along).
Since we are in a band and will be playing at Cornerstone around the time the baby is one-month old, we have looked into the protective earmuffs for infants. The adorable things cover most of the baby's head! I can't wait to have my baby at a gig wearing those! Anyways, they are not recommended for kids under 6 months since their head is so soft. I guess we'll have to go with the earplugs or babysitter for the first few loud gigs.
Speaking of loud gigs, Never Say When just played at Auburn Christian Church in Auburn, IL. What a blessed time! This is definitely one of our top gigs so far. We played for about an hour, had wonderful sound up on stage (which can be a huge treat to musicians), got free food, got a great and unexpected love offering, were able to help kids raise money to go to CIY, and met some really great people! We signed some autographs, including a girls arm. Dale is definitely turning out to be the heartthrob of the band! Who would have guessed? huh. lol. It is times like those that show me that GOD has us in the right place with music!
Well, I'm going to do some homework!
the future daddy - Nathan
We have rearranged our bedroom to fit a crib and a changing table. The baby's going to have to sleep in our room since it is only a one-room apartment. We thought about moving, but Becky wants to stay put so we can be completely settled and comfortable when the baby comes (and not unpacking when she is 8 or 9 months along).
Since we are in a band and will be playing at Cornerstone around the time the baby is one-month old, we have looked into the protective earmuffs for infants. The adorable things cover most of the baby's head! I can't wait to have my baby at a gig wearing those! Anyways, they are not recommended for kids under 6 months since their head is so soft. I guess we'll have to go with the earplugs or babysitter for the first few loud gigs.
Speaking of loud gigs, Never Say When just played at Auburn Christian Church in Auburn, IL. What a blessed time! This is definitely one of our top gigs so far. We played for about an hour, had wonderful sound up on stage (which can be a huge treat to musicians), got free food, got a great and unexpected love offering, were able to help kids raise money to go to CIY, and met some really great people! We signed some autographs, including a girls arm. Dale is definitely turning out to be the heartthrob of the band! Who would have guessed? huh. lol. It is times like those that show me that GOD has us in the right place with music!
Well, I'm going to do some homework!
the future daddy - Nathan
Friday, September 11, 2009
Drum Circle!!!
So I am sitting at Cafe Aroma listening to Amy (a percussion professor) run a drum circle with a bunch of people including Becklynn. Man, how awesome! As I am enjoying this music I will give you an update on, well....us. Becklynn is doing really well working at Aroma as the Music and Arts Manager. This place is getting popular. Multiple Grr Records artists have contacted the Cafe with an interest in doing shows here. The Bethany Dillon show we did awhile ago went WONDERFULLY and business is going great with all of the students and professors back in town! Becklynn had her first visit to a homeopathic doctor in Monmouth, IL this week. She needed to go see someone since all of the natural thyroid meds are on a national backorder! What a great deal of wonderful information and insight she came away with! Thankfully she is healthy. Oh yeah, and she is not pregnant this month! lol. So has anyone lost that bet yet?
I'm doing pretty well in classes. I LOVE my electronic music class. I automatically get three hours a week in an electronic music studio here on campus. It is packed with some SWEET synthesizers and other gear. I can already tell that I'm going to have a lot of fun with that. Oceanography is pretty fantastic. GOD definitely knew exactly how to make a perfect working system. (By the way, Amy is now teaching Becklynn a dance in the middle of the drum circle which now has a sweet groove going with Dale on his Stratocaster and Devin rocking his bass guitar!) I'm in a choir for the first time in my life and it is pretty enjoyable. The human voice can act as a beautiful instrument. My other classes are also going well and my schedule has not gotten insane with homework yet. This makes me a happy puppy!
Now for some randomness. Becklynn and I were gone with the band playing at Central Christian Church in Rockford, IL this past weekend. It was a great gig as usual, but when we got home we found the apartment very smelly from the cats. I guess they decided that their litter box was too smelly so they wanted to use the floor. EEEWWWW!!!! So we cleaned that up, but the apartment still smelled like a moldy, wet towel a couple days later. We thought that maybe it was our homemade cat litter (which has been working fabulously by the way), then realized it was the blanket that was laying on the ground in the living room. Someone urinated on it! Gross! So we cleaned that and the apartment still smelled. Becky ended up putting baking soda all over the carpet and sweeping it up and, thankfully, the smell is gone! It is nice to have a clean apartment that does not smell like a giant, moldy litter box. lol.
Becklynn and I are down to our last bottle of sparkling cider from the wedding. The caterer only put one bottle on each table at the reception instead of two. This means that Becklynn and I got to take home two boxes of it. Sorry if you didn't get any at the wedding. If it's any consolation, it is delicious! (Dale and Amy are now "talking" musically with their guitar and drum...fascinating!)
Dad, if you're reading this, I've been wearing the Harley hat you gave me for my bachelor party lately. Thanks, I'm really digging it. Now I just need the Harley to go with it. And yes, the Wii (and other gifts) have been used as well!
I'm signing out... Love ya'll.
Nathan
I'm doing pretty well in classes. I LOVE my electronic music class. I automatically get three hours a week in an electronic music studio here on campus. It is packed with some SWEET synthesizers and other gear. I can already tell that I'm going to have a lot of fun with that. Oceanography is pretty fantastic. GOD definitely knew exactly how to make a perfect working system. (By the way, Amy is now teaching Becklynn a dance in the middle of the drum circle which now has a sweet groove going with Dale on his Stratocaster and Devin rocking his bass guitar!) I'm in a choir for the first time in my life and it is pretty enjoyable. The human voice can act as a beautiful instrument. My other classes are also going well and my schedule has not gotten insane with homework yet. This makes me a happy puppy!
Now for some randomness. Becklynn and I were gone with the band playing at Central Christian Church in Rockford, IL this past weekend. It was a great gig as usual, but when we got home we found the apartment very smelly from the cats. I guess they decided that their litter box was too smelly so they wanted to use the floor. EEEWWWW!!!! So we cleaned that up, but the apartment still smelled like a moldy, wet towel a couple days later. We thought that maybe it was our homemade cat litter (which has been working fabulously by the way), then realized it was the blanket that was laying on the ground in the living room. Someone urinated on it! Gross! So we cleaned that and the apartment still smelled. Becky ended up putting baking soda all over the carpet and sweeping it up and, thankfully, the smell is gone! It is nice to have a clean apartment that does not smell like a giant, moldy litter box. lol.
Becklynn and I are down to our last bottle of sparkling cider from the wedding. The caterer only put one bottle on each table at the reception instead of two. This means that Becklynn and I got to take home two boxes of it. Sorry if you didn't get any at the wedding. If it's any consolation, it is delicious! (Dale and Amy are now "talking" musically with their guitar and drum...fascinating!)
Dad, if you're reading this, I've been wearing the Harley hat you gave me for my bachelor party lately. Thanks, I'm really digging it. Now I just need the Harley to go with it. And yes, the Wii (and other gifts) have been used as well!
I'm signing out... Love ya'll.
Nathan
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Catch up time....
So a lot has happened since the last blog. An entire wedding was planned and has passed. School has started. Becklynn is working at the Cafe.
The wedding was absolutely fantastic! We say a HUGE thank you to all that took part in the wedding planning, ceremony, and reception, and everything else that went into the big event. Held at the Rail golf course in Springfield, GOD provided the perfect wedding weather. We had some great shade and breeze to keep the long expanse of picture taking time and ceremony cool. The outdoor wedding flowed smoothly into the reception that was held in the air conditioned tent on the Rail's grounds. It was wonderful getting to share so much time with our family and friends with things like a slide show, toasts, eating awesome food, and DANCING! I must give props to Lizi (bridesmaid) who spent hours in the car, hours standing, hours taking pictures, and more hours standing on a torn ACL. Ouch.
Now, school has started for me (Nathan). I am taking Elements of Electronic Music, Elements of 20th Century Music, Choir, Piano 3, Oceanography, Exceptional Children (Psych), Perception (Psych), and Music in World Cultures. It is going to be a full semester! I am also working part time at the Music Library on campus.
Becky is the Music and Arts Manager at the wonderful Cafe Aroma in Macomb, IL. I am currently sitting in the Cafe listening to Dr. Matt Warnock play jazz with some other professional musicians from Western Illinois University. Anyways, Becklynn LOVES her job. Along with this job she is teaching piano and voice lessons and is a full-time wife! She can make some great lunches for me!
The apartment is coming along very nicely. We got a nice TV from her parents which fits great in our living room along with the Wii that Josh and MJ got for me for my bachelor party! What great brothers. We are very glad that we decided to paint when we first moved in because it continues to feel very homey! We found a great arrangement for the living room and are working on getting everything else in its place after the whole wedding and honeymoon thing. We just did eight loads of laundry today including clothes, towels, blankets, and sheets and cannot put them away yet because the closet is full of things that need to find a home. We bought some curtains to put up in the bedroom to cover the area above the window. The paint is peeling and a poor spackle job exists there. What Becklynn does not know is that I finished painting the wall tonight and hung the curtains when she went to work. Shhh...don't tell her for another 2 hours. The curtains look great. I, for some reason, could not drill into the wall far enough to get the anchors in, so I just screwed the rod holders into the wall and hope that it will hold. They seem solid enough. Well, thanks for your time. Hope you enjoyed this tiny update...
Mr. and Mrs. HOLLAND
The wedding was absolutely fantastic! We say a HUGE thank you to all that took part in the wedding planning, ceremony, and reception, and everything else that went into the big event. Held at the Rail golf course in Springfield, GOD provided the perfect wedding weather. We had some great shade and breeze to keep the long expanse of picture taking time and ceremony cool. The outdoor wedding flowed smoothly into the reception that was held in the air conditioned tent on the Rail's grounds. It was wonderful getting to share so much time with our family and friends with things like a slide show, toasts, eating awesome food, and DANCING! I must give props to Lizi (bridesmaid) who spent hours in the car, hours standing, hours taking pictures, and more hours standing on a torn ACL. Ouch.
Now, school has started for me (Nathan). I am taking Elements of Electronic Music, Elements of 20th Century Music, Choir, Piano 3, Oceanography, Exceptional Children (Psych), Perception (Psych), and Music in World Cultures. It is going to be a full semester! I am also working part time at the Music Library on campus.
Becky is the Music and Arts Manager at the wonderful Cafe Aroma in Macomb, IL. I am currently sitting in the Cafe listening to Dr. Matt Warnock play jazz with some other professional musicians from Western Illinois University. Anyways, Becklynn LOVES her job. Along with this job she is teaching piano and voice lessons and is a full-time wife! She can make some great lunches for me!
The apartment is coming along very nicely. We got a nice TV from her parents which fits great in our living room along with the Wii that Josh and MJ got for me for my bachelor party! What great brothers. We are very glad that we decided to paint when we first moved in because it continues to feel very homey! We found a great arrangement for the living room and are working on getting everything else in its place after the whole wedding and honeymoon thing. We just did eight loads of laundry today including clothes, towels, blankets, and sheets and cannot put them away yet because the closet is full of things that need to find a home. We bought some curtains to put up in the bedroom to cover the area above the window. The paint is peeling and a poor spackle job exists there. What Becklynn does not know is that I finished painting the wall tonight and hung the curtains when she went to work. Shhh...don't tell her for another 2 hours. The curtains look great. I, for some reason, could not drill into the wall far enough to get the anchors in, so I just screwed the rod holders into the wall and hope that it will hold. They seem solid enough. Well, thanks for your time. Hope you enjoyed this tiny update...
Mr. and Mrs. HOLLAND
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Moving Apartments...
What a crazy busy and productive week! Becky is checked out of her old apartment and is living in the new apartment in Triad Park. I (this is Nathan writing) am now out the the Campus Students for Christ and am living with Keith and Lindsay Luecht until I get to move in with my stuff and WIFE after the wedding in August. My schedule has been so busy with moving all of Becky's stuff, organizing the new apartment, taking a trip to Springfield, working on wedding invitation stuff, and working at the music library and Cafe Aroma that Keith didn't know if he could believe that I was actually living with them. The first two nights I came in after they were in bed and left before they were up. Thankfully, Keith woke me up this morning and we went to breakfast and had some great man time! Becky, on the other hand, is currently shopping for a wedding dres! I'm so excited to be marrying her in a little over two months. They (mostly family members are with her) are shopping today at David's Bridal. Becky has seven dresses to try on but we'll see how long she is actually in the store. Once she gets back, we get in the car with Amanda and all go to my family's house in Winnebago, IL for Memorial Day. I haven't been home very much this semester and cannot wait to see my parents and Micah again. Sadly, I don't get to see Josh until June (sorry Erica and Lilah, I think we have to wait until August), but that is coming quickly. Then comes August when we get to see all of our closest friends and family at the wedding.
THE KITCHEN AND A LOT OF STUFF
CAN HEATH AND THE COUCH BOTH FIT?
WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE A SLEEPER SOFA!!??
AMANDA DID A TON OF WORK WITH US! THANKS, AMANDA...
THE AMP WALL!
AFTER PAINTING
BEFORE PAINTING
BECKY FINISHING UP THE SPACKLING
MANDY, BECKY, BECKLYNN, AND RACHEL
THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED. YOU ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!
Anyways, more about moving in all of our stuff into the apartment. Becky, her mom (who was thankfully here for a week!!) and Amanda Neira went into the new apartment and decided the walls needed to be painted. We did not give maintenance enough time to paint so they went and got some wonderful colors and we painted the place very quickly. This and cleaning took a day (Tuesday). On Wednesday, the girls went to the apartment and finished the painting while I worked in the music library. When I got off work, we were able to move all of Becky's stuff in. I must take a moment to say that GOD is great and has given us amazing friends. We were expecting 5 people in total to be moving stuff and somehow 11 people showed up. I think GOD made sure the word got around because everybody was utilized. And I must say that GOD was also at work in getting the couch upstairs. I have no idea how the guys got it upstairs through the tiny stairwells. It is interesting now to see how Becky and I are fitting all of the furniture from a two story apartment into a small, one bedroom apartment. It is a lot of fun...we both love organizing and interior decorating type stuff.
THE KITCHEN AND A LOT OF STUFF
CAN HEATH AND THE COUCH BOTH FIT?
WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE A SLEEPER SOFA!!??
AMANDA DID A TON OF WORK WITH US! THANKS, AMANDA...
THE AMP WALL!
AFTER PAINTING
BEFORE PAINTING
BECKY FINISHING UP THE SPACKLING
MANDY, BECKY, BECKLYNN, AND RACHELTHANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED. YOU ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Registering and Cake Tasting...
So...registering and cake tasting went great this last Saturday! Who knew that registering at Bed Bath & Beyond was such a process? Anyways, we walk in and said we would like to register and they invited us over to their bridal registry room. They have a registry room! We had to fill out some paperwork to set up our registry and get it online. But that's cool because people can now access us on the store's website, buy stuff, and ship it to us. The lady went on to give us an entire page FILLED with a large checklist of items so we wouldn't forget anything. We got to use a cool scanner and scan anything we wanted. We tried to stick with stuff we need, but of course we couldn't resist putting some things on there just for fun. We were in the store for 2 1/2 hours and didn't even hit the whole thing. We needed to leave to make our cake tasting, though. We met with the cake lady and she had a some cake pictures for us to look at. Fancy the fact that she had a picture of a wonderful cake in the right colors and everything. We said we want that exact cake except for different flowers. She told us that we were easy decision makers, gave us our little personal cake to take home and eat, and sent us on our way. We then went to Target and registered. You can also check that out online if desired.
Don't worry Macomb-ians....our Wal-Mart registry is on its way!
Nathan
Don't worry Macomb-ians....our Wal-Mart registry is on its way!
Nathan
Friday, May 8, 2009
INTRODUCING OUR WEDDING PARTY:
Nathan's Groomsmen:
Becky's Bridesmaids:
We are so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people! We love you and thank you for loving us!!
-Nathan and Becky
Becky's Bridesmaids:
We are so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people! We love you and thank you for loving us!!
-Nathan and Becky
Thursday, May 7, 2009
IT ALL BEGINS HERE...
We are getting married!!
We have been discussing creating a blog spot so that we could communicate with our loved ones and keep everyone updated with the happenings of our life together. Now that we are engaged to be married we thought it would be a great time to start our page!
So, here it is. We plan on putting all sorts of wedding information on here and continuing to this blog as we progress in our marriage.
We hope everyone enjoy. Feel free to comment.
Hope all is well.
Nathan & Becky
We have been discussing creating a blog spot so that we could communicate with our loved ones and keep everyone updated with the happenings of our life together. Now that we are engaged to be married we thought it would be a great time to start our page!
So, here it is. We plan on putting all sorts of wedding information on here and continuing to this blog as we progress in our marriage.
We hope everyone enjoy. Feel free to comment.
Hope all is well.
Nathan & Becky
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